Broken Promises
by ForzaOUAT
Summary: Mr. Gold's shop has been broken in to. Hiding in the back he finds a young woman who has obviously been beaten, probably worse. To his horror he realizes that she is the same girl he'd had an opportunity to take to his castle in Fairy Tale Land. He'd thought it right to leave her ...now, he can see that perhaps he made the wrong choice. Trigger warnings: abuse/hinting at rape


Broken Promises

Part 1

_A/N A short sneak peek of my new fiction. _

He was unaccustomed to vandals. Most people were not so stupid as to actually break in to his shop. Clearly, there was an exception. As he approached his store that morning to open it for the day he found the front window smashed in. Super. Now, not only were closed signs a waste of money, but apparently windows as well. He stared at the broken glass for another minute, sighed and walked inside. By the time he reached the cash register the phone at the repair man's shop was already ringing.

He checked everywhere. Safes, registers, lock boxes ...nothing was out of the ordinary, nothing was broken or, as far as he could tell, taken. Why would someone break in but not take anything? It made no sense at all. He rounded the last corner in the furthest set of shelves he had from the front and came to a grinding halt. He stared. Shook his head. Stared again. No, he wasn't seeing things ...a tiny, dirty girl wearing ripped clothing and no shoes was huddling under one of the tables. Where on earth had she come from? He thought he knew pretty much everyone, but this girl was a mystery.

He moved forward and she cringed, scuttling back further into the corner, making herself as small as possible. Gold stopped. Something was wrong ...really, really wrong. He swallowed and then knelt, speaking in soft tones as if talking to a wounded animal. "Hey. I'm Mr. Gold. Everything is okay now. I'm not angry. Think maybe you could come out?"

She said nothing, but sharp, suspicious blue eyes came up to look into his face. He could see that she knew exactly who he was and that she didn't believe him when he said she would not come to harm. He sighed. He supposed he deserved that, as it was the reputation he projected for the entire town. Right now, however, he needed a way to convince this girl to come out. He didn't know why she was frightened or, assuming it was her, why she'd broken into his shop, but he was damn well going to find out.

He stayed where he was, not blocking her exit should she want to run, and not moving any closer. She was skittish enough without him being bullheaded and trying to drag her out. "So ...let's start over, okay? I'm Mr. Gold. What's your name?"

Her eyes darted from his face to the door and back again. "I know who you are."

Gold smiled. "Well, that's a start. I don't think we've met before."

"We have," she said with tears threatening to well up in her eyes. "Years ago at my father's court. You saved our family from the ogres. A woman in a war room, I'm not surprised you don't remember."

He was stunned into silence. In fact he did remember her. He had considered making her the payment for saving her family from the ogres ...perhaps had he done that she would not be here now. "It was Belle, was it not?"

She looked stunned, as if no one had ever actually remembered her before. "Yes."

"Well, Belle, I would love to make you some tea, and get you some clothes maybe? If you want. Some food?"

She moved closer to him, scooting out from under the table until she was sitting beside him. Gold glanced down at her tattered shirt and ripped jeans and almost let out a litany of curses. She was covered in bruises. They were on her arms, her back, her neck, shoulders ...gods was there anywhere she didn't have bruises? She needed a hospital, not food. He shook his head. "Look, I really think we should take you ..."

She cut him off abruptly. "Please, not the hospital. Please?"

He ground his teeth together to prevent himself from saying anything he would regret. "I'll make you a deal. You tell me what happened and we'll call Dr. Whale over to take a look. Is that fair? I just want to be sure you're not bleeding internally, sweetheart."

His heart throbbed painfully when she flinched at the endearment, but she nodded. He pinned her with his eyes. "The truth."

She blushed, looked down at her feet, and then nodded again.

Gold busied himself making tea and getting pastries together while she went into the small bathroom he kept here to wash up. He knew it was a bad idea, to let her wash herself, especially if more than just a beating took place, but she had touched his heart and he couldn't bare to see her dirty and frightened. Besides, if she had that much of a problem with the hospital, it was a good likelihood this had happened before. He called Dr. Whale and explained the situation. His heart sank when Whale confirmed that Miss Belle French had been to the emergency room several times for injuries ranging from black eyes to a separated shoulder. Gold could hear the same outrage he was feeling echoed in Whale's voice. "If she would just divorce the bastard ...well, anyway, I'm on my way."

Gold slammed the phone down so hard it cracked in his hand. Her husband. _Her husband_ did this to her? What kind of monster did this? Ever? For any reason? He took several deep breaths, trying to calm himself. It would not do to tell her he was going over to beat her husband into the ground right now. He needed to win her trust, needed her to know that he would never hurt her like that. The idea of having a friend was ...a little abnormal to him, but if that was what was necessary, he would certainly do everything he could.

The shower had clearly done wonders. She emerged with a full set of clothes on, bundled up in a heavy jacket even though it was not cold. He smiled and put her tea on the table, seating himself across from her. "I'm listening."

"It's ...it's my ...my fault. I ...I make him angry. He doesn't mean it, I know he doesn't, really. He's just ..." her voice caught and Gold closed his eyes, trying desperately to control his temper.

He reached out, didn't touch her, but simply reached across the table, offering a hand should she need one to hold on to. She didn't take it. He sighed, but pressed on. "Belle, I want you to hear me very clearly, okay?"

She nodded and he continued. "It is not your fault. It is _never_ your fault. Look, there is an apartment over the library. It's usually for the caretaker, but since the library is closed it's empty. I would prefer if you didn't go home. You'll be safe there. No one will have a key but you. Not even me. I know you don't know me very well, but if you'll let me, I will protect you ...I promise."

Those stunning blue eyes game up to focus on his face. "Why?"

There were so many things he wanted to say. Your husband is a monster and deserves to be locked up for the rest of his natural life. Anyone you know who didn't take action when you started appearing with bruises should be shot. I can magically remove your husbands limbs and hang them about town as a warning to everyone. He said none of these things. "I want you to be safe."

She still looked confused and it made him want to weep. Had no one ever been kind to her? "You don't even know me."

He shook his head. "Not well, but you know ...I don't have any friends here ...at all. It gets kind of lonely. Maybe ..." He paused, unsure if he was pushing too hard, but a look at the beginnings of a real smile on her face made him continue. "Maybe we could be friends."

Belle hesitated, staring into his eyes as if she were gauging whether or not she could trust him. Finally she let the smile break free. "I think I would like that."


End file.
